Removing and replacing cleats

When they aren’t left rusting in the confines of the garage or the shed, your pedal cleats have a hard life. They’re stamped upon, constantly clipped in and out of, ground upon rocks and treated with complete neglect. If you’ve found that your pedals don’t have the same crisp feel of retention they once had, or that involuntary unclipping is becoming a regularity, replacing your cleats might be the answer. Since most brands of cleats are widely available for about £10-£15 a set, it’s also a modest investment to restore performance.
The problem most of us will face is removing the old ones. Due to the hostile environment your cleats have to deal with, now will be the time when you discover how well they were installed in the first place. Properly installed cleats should pose no problem to remove, but if they were fitted some time ago, with little care, you may need to get nasty and attack your shoes with some power tools. Here we’ll show you how to successfully remove cleats and make it easier next time round.